Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback, guys! This chapter is longer than the last, I'm not going to go into too much detail. Lol. It's not that great, but I had to get the ball rolling, as they say. Oh! Side note: this story takes place a little after New Moon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon, or any of their characters.

Chapter 1: Guest

The sweet aroma of flowers drifted up from the jam-packed earth. The scent was mingling with the mustiness of grass, which relaxed me. I lie on my stomach and spread my arms up above my head. The sun's delicate tendrils slowly spread warmth all over my body, starting from my back and radiating out. Little pinpricks became visible on my skin as the shock of the warmth made me shiver. I could feel the dewdrops mixing with my hair and sticking to my eyelashes.

Ah, the meadow. His. Mine. Ours. It was so great to be back in this enchanting place with my Edward. Today was the first day I had been allowed out of the house since my little escapade to Italy, and Edward had chosen to take me here. We had a little trouble convincing Charlie that my first permissible day with Edward should be out instead of at home, but Edward's sister, Alice, had the amazing ability of charming Charlie. Our only setback was that I had to be home at eight, no exceptions. But, I could deal with that if it meant spending the day with Edward in our meadow.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I listened to the babbling of a brook nearby and the crackle of leaves. I got lost in the performance behind my eyelids: the dancing of neon colors as they intermixed and separated again. The partners were ever changing and something dissimilar always took the lead.

I pair of marble arms wrapped around my waist and tenderly turned me to my side. I opened one eye and peeked up at Edward; when he saw me do so, he smiled. The sun glinted off of his teeth, creating a thousand specks of iridescent glitter in the air. His lips bent down to the hollow beneath my ear.

"I thought you were sleeping," he whispered as his mouth traveled down the length of my neck.

"No," I paused, trying to calm my sporadic heartbeats. "No, I was just enjoying the sun."

"As was I," he murmured as he pulled me to his chest.

He began to hum my lullaby as we lay there. Sometimes he would stop short and kiss my neck or my shoulder, then he would pick up the melody again. We stayed there for an immeasurable amount of time. It was the kind of moment that felt like hours and seconds, days and years, but which one you couldn't know until it was over. The light from the sun began to fade behind the trees surrounding us and he stopped humming.

"Let's go back to my house," Edward suggested as he stood. His voice was a low mumble; it went well with the twilight atmosphere. "I'm sure they'll want to see you."

They were his family. I had grown fond of them all, especially Alice. She was the sister I never had. Hopefully, though, she would become my sister soon--if Edward changed me. You see Edward and his family weren't like most. Besides being stunningly gorgeous and intensely intelligent, they had a strange aura around them. Everyone subconsciously made an invisible wall between them and the Cullens, some kind of preservation that all humans had. All humans, except me. Edward and the rest of his family were, as hard as it is to believe, vampires. They were real, undead vampires that had a different lifestyle than most of their kind.

I stood and hopped onto his sturdy back. He turned and asked if I was ready, I nodded in reply. Then, he was off. Edward and I traveled most places by running—well, Edward was running, I just hopped on for the ride. His superhuman speed used to terrify me, but now it was exhilarating. As we cut through the underbrush I heard branches whistle through the air, like when a child whips a long twig around to make a high-pitched echo.

The wind burned my eyes and made them water, and the cool bursts of air made me shake. I felt so alive--everything was in sharp focus. I could feel every molecule of water in the air, could smell every speck of dirt. A laugh rang throughout the woods that was velvet soft and oh-so beautiful. Edward turned his head so I could see his lopsided grin, and I began to laugh as well.

Then everything stopped. We had arrived at his secluded white mansion in record time. Joyous, I jumped off his back and grabbed his hand. He smiled again and led me to the door.

"I should warn you," he said, amused, "they went over-the-top."

I groaned. There went my good mood.

He chuckled and kissed my forehead, "Be good, please."

I gave him a little smile and nodded, then walked through the door. Over the top was right. All the entranceways were covered in bright red and pink balloons, streamers were everywhere, and glitter dusted the floor. The large home looked as decorated as it had on my birthday; the memory of that night made me frown. Bad memories were soon forgotten, though, when I walked through the foyer and a huge sign greeted me. "Welcome home, Bella!" it read. I staggered when I examined the word "home". I was more than flattered that they considered me apart of their lovely family, but I didn't deserve them. How could I ever deserve such generous people? I couldn't, I was only human after-all. All of their lovely faces were there, watching me: Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Jasper, Alice…and Rosalie.

A pressure began to build under my eyes and to my dismay I began to cry. They all rushed around me in an instant.

"Bella, what's wrong?"

"Are you okay?"

"Do you want to go home?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just…" how could I explain how I felt? How gracious I was that they considered me apart of this glorious family?

"It's just--thank you." I sniffled.

Esme laced her arm around my shoulder, "Of course, Bella, dear,"

The rest of them nodded as if agreeing with Esme. I looked over at Edward, trying to apologize for my sudden outburst of emotion, but he just gave me an encouraging smile. I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, and proceeded into the living room.

Alice bounded up and kissed me on my cheek.

"Hey, Bells!"

She had taken great enjoyment calling me Bells after spending so much time with Charlie. She linked her arm through mine and pulled me away from Edward. I'm sure I looked just as bewildered as he did, because she added, "I'm showing Bella her welcome-home present."

Edward didn't seem to have any objections to that, so he followed us into the dining room where a large, ornate chest was waiting on the table. The others gather around us as well; I felt like a puppy on display.

"Well? Open it!" Alice enthused.

I glanced over at Edward who took my hand and glided me over to the chest. He placed my hand over the latch and nodded for me to continue. I unhooked the bolt, burdened by my own curiosity. I carefully lifted the lid and peered inside. At first glance I would have thought nothing was contained, the chest was very deep and the bottom was covered in darkness. But, when I reached my hand to probe the foundation of this treasure chest, I found three small, rectangular boxes, waiting to be opened.

I turned to Edward in horror. No, no! He didn't…He sighed and opened each box for me. Yes. Yes, he had. The first of the velvet boxes held a contemporary three-stone ring. Its rounded stones glittered up at me, taunting me to guess their price. The silver that held the stone was curved into arks and spirals, more bold and modern than any ring I had ever seen. The second box contained seven round diamonds, each growing in size. I was confused as to why they had just gotten me set of diamonds instead of jewelry, but I understood when I picked up the delicate necklace. The last, and perhaps the most gorgeous, was a vintage ring. Half of its band was set in diamonds and another encircling set was mounted on top. Inside this ring was a teardrop diamond.

I was about to tear up again.

"I can't accept this," I croaked.

Edward gently removed the necklace from my hands and walked behind me. His strong arms tenderly draped around my shoulders and put on the necklace for me. I shook my head; I couldn't let him buy me these things.

"I know it's a little cliché," he whispered in my ear, "but, please, indulge us."

"Oh come on, Bella! Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

I turned in surprise at Rosalie. She was actually acknowledging me. When she saw me turn around, she gave me a tentative smile. I smiled back. Maybe I could have another sister to look forward to.

A thrill of shock rocked us all when we heard a pounding on the door. Edward went rigid, but the rest were elated.

"Lighten up, Edward," Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Delightful," mused Carlisle.

Edward turned a scowl onto everyone in his family, but they all disregarded him. Carlisle walked to the entryway of the dining room.

"Let's welcome our guest in, shall we?" he motioned for Esme to take his hand.

We all filed through the doorway and stood in the foyer. Edward tightened his grip around my waist.

"Who is it?" I whispered.

Before he could answer, they walked through the door.